Michael Vick's unpaid dues: Why dog advocates aren't moving on

Updated 8:05 am, Friday, August 28, 2015

This small dog was found after the raid on Vick's dogfighting operation in Virginia. He was taken in by the Georgia Humane Society and eventually adopted by new owners.

This small dog was found after the raid on Vick's dogfighting operation in Virginia. He was taken in by the Georgia Humane Society and eventually adopted by new owners.

Photo: Donna Reynolds

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onny Justice, one of the dogs seized from Michael Vick's Bad Newz Kennels. He's now living in the Bay Area with his new family, Cris Cohen and Jennifer Long.

onny Justice, one of the dogs seized from Michael Vick's Bad Newz Kennels. He's now living in the Bay Area with his new family, Cris Cohen and Jennifer Long.

Photo: Donna Reynolds

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Audie, the ex-Vick dog formerly known as "Dutch," was adopted by Bay Area dog trainer Linda Chwistek and her husband Bill.

Audie, the ex-Vick dog formerly known as "Dutch," was adopted by Bay Area dog trainer Linda Chwistek and her husband Bill.

Photo: Donna Reynolds

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Former Vick dog Oliver with Valparaiso University School of Law professor Rebecca Huss, who served as court-appointed guardian/special master of the pit bulls seized in the Michael Vick case. Oliver is one of the many Vick dogs being cared for at Best Friends Animal Society in Utah. less

Former Vick dog Oliver with Valparaiso University School of Law professor Rebecca Huss, who served as court-appointed guardian/special master of the pit bulls seized in the Michael Vick case. Oliver is one of ... more

Photo: Donna Reynolds

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This artists rendering shows Michael Vick wearing a black-and-white prison suit flanked by his attorney's Billy Martin, left, and Lawrence Woodward as he is sentenced by federal judge Henry Hundson, far right, in Federal Court in Richmond, Va. less

Protesters supporting Michael Vick hold signs and sing as they line up across the street from Federal Court. Vick was sentenced to 23 months for his role in a dogfighting conspiracy that involved gambling and killing pit bulls. less

Protesters supporting Michael Vick hold signs and sing as they line up across the street from Federal Court. Vick was sentenced to 23 months for his role in a dogfighting conspiracy that involved gambling and ... more

Photo: Casey Templeton, AP

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Spectators wearing Michael Vick jersey's wait to get inside Federal Court for the sentencing of the fallen football star on Monday.

Spectators wearing Michael Vick jersey's wait to get inside Federal Court for the sentencing of the fallen football star on Monday.

Photo: Casey Templeton, AP

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A group of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) protest outside the federal courthouse, Monday, December 10, 2007, in Richmond, Virginia.

A group of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) protest outside the federal courthouse, Monday, December 10, 2007, in Richmond, Virginia.

Photo: Joe Fudge, MCT

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Billy Martin, attorney for Michael Vick, talks to the media following Vick's sentencing. Two of Vick's co-defendants, Purnell Peace and Quanis Phillips, were sentenced Nov. 30. Another co-defendant, Tony Taylor, will be sentenced Friday. less

Billy Martin, attorney for Michael Vick, talks to the media following Vick's sentencing. Two of Vick's co-defendants, Purnell Peace and Quanis Phillips, were sentenced Nov. 30. Another co-defendant, Tony ... more

Photo: Joe Fudge, MCT

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Supporters of Atlanta Falcons' Michael Vick carry signs outside of the federal court. Vick was told by Judge Henry E. Hudson: "You need to apologize to the millions of young people who looked up to you."

Supporters of Atlanta Falcons' Michael Vick carry signs outside of the federal court. Vick was told by Judge Henry E. Hudson: "You need to apologize to the millions of young people who looked up to you."

Photo: Joe Fudge, MCT

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Michael Vick supporters display their signs inside their tour bus in front of the federal courthouse. Inside, Vick acknowledged he used "poor judgment" and added, "I'm willing to deal with the consequences and accept responsibility for my actions." less

Michael Vick supporters display their signs inside their tour bus in front of the federal courthouse. Inside, Vick acknowledged he used "poor judgment" and added, "I'm willing to deal with the consequences and ... more

Photo: Joe Fudge, MCT

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Court papers revealed gruesome details about the dogfighting operation Michael Vick, center, financed, including the execution of underperforming dogs by electrocution, drowning, hanging and other means.

Court papers revealed gruesome details about the dogfighting operation Michael Vick, center, financed, including the execution of underperforming dogs by electrocution, drowning, hanging and other means.

Photo: Dana Verkouteren, AP

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Marcus Vick, left, and Larry Woodward, one of Michael Vick's attorneys, leave Federal Court. Before the hearing started, Marcus Vick sat with his right arm around their mother, comforting her as she buried her head in her hands and wept. less

Marcus Vick, left, and Larry Woodward, one of Michael Vick's attorneys, leave Federal Court. Before the hearing started, Marcus Vick sat with his right arm around their mother, comforting her as she buried her ... more

Photo: P. KEVIN MORLEY, AP

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Michael Vick's unpaid dues: Why dog advocates aren't moving on

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When football player Michael Vick made his first post-prison appearance in a Philadelphia Eagles uniform, he got a standing ovation from the hometown crowd. His recent reception in the Bay Area was far cooler -- at last month's game between the Eagles and the Oakland Raiders, he was greeted with protestors, picket signs and a plane flying over the stadium with a banner reading "Dogfighter Go Home!"

But even in the dog-loving Bay Area, Vick had plenty of defenders. "Sooner or later you're going to have to forgive the guy anyway," Charles Wright, a 44-year-old Oakland tow truck driver, told protestors after the game. "You may as well get it out of your system."

Another fan yelled, "Come on, the dude paid his debt to society."

In other words, "move on." But however many times dog lovers hear such advice, they're not getting any closer to taking it. That's because not only has Vick not served one minute in prison for animal cruelty, he was far more cruel to his dogs than most of his defenders seem to realize.

Most people are aware that Michael Vick was "convicted of dog fighting." They know he went to prison, and they've also probably seen the news stories, including a moving Sports Illustratedcover story, about the Vick dogs that were rescued and rehabilitated after being seized from his Bad Newz Kennels.

But that's only part of the story.

"What Michael Vick did was not just dog fighting," said Marthina McClay of Our Pack, a pit bull rescue group in Santa Clara, and the owner of one of the Vick dogs, Leo. "It went so far beyond that, and most people who defend him are uninformed. They don't really realize what Michael Vick did."

If you're one of the people McClay is talking about, let me invite you into Donna Reynolds' nightmare.

She's definitely not what you'd call a fragile flower, and she's been working with ex-fighting pits for longer than a lot of the people reading this have been out of kindergarten. It's fair to say she's seen the worst things that people can do to dogs, but there's still a story she can't get out of her mind.

It was a sweltering day in September of 2007, and Reynolds was in Virginia to evaluate the 49 pit bulls found alive on Vicks' property. A federal agent who had been at the scene when the property was searched was driving her to the various facilities holding the dogs, and they got to talking about what the investigation had turned up.

"The details that got to me then and stay with me today involve the swimming pool that was used to kill some of the dogs," Reynolds wrote on her blog. "Jumper cables were clipped onto the ears of underperforming dogs, then, just like with a car, the cables were connected to the terminals of car batteries before lifting and tossing the shamed dogs into the water."

She continued, "We don't know how many suffered this premeditated murder, but the damage to the pool walls tells a story. It seems that while they were scrambling to escape, they scratched and clawed at the pool liner and bit at the dented aluminum sides like a hungry dog on a tin can.

"I wear some pretty thick skin during our work with dogs, but I can't shake my minds-eye image of a little black dog splashing frantically in bloody water ... screaming in pain and terror ... brown eyes saucer wide and tiny black white-toed feet clawing at anything, desperate to get a hold. This death did not come quickly. The rescuer in me keeps trying to think of a way to go back in time and somehow stop this torture and pull the little dog to safety. I think I'll be looking for ways to pull that dog out for the rest of my life."

Vick did all that and more to his dogs, and even threw family pets into the pit with fighters and laughed while they were mauled, according to a witness who testified to federal investigators.

That's what sends dog lovers out to football games with protest signs: knowing that Michael Vick tortured and killed innocent dogs. That he has never paid for that abuse or even apologized for it.

Because the nation's most notorious dogfighter pled "not guilty" to animal cruelty charges -- charges that were eventually dropped in a plea bargain -- and he was convicted only of bankrolling a dogfighting conspiracy, for which he served 18 months in prison before being welcomed back to the public spotlight.

Even worse, he's shown no sign of understanding of, or regret over, the fate of his dogs.

"Vick has never expressed one word of remorse for what he did to those dogs," said McClay. "Not in any of his public statements, and not in his appearance on '60 Minutes.' Vick said he 'let it happen.' He slammed and beat and hung dogs to death. It's like Ted Bundy saying, 'I let someone murder this girl.' He doesn't take any responsibility for it."

Reynolds doesn't think it's an accident that most of Vick's supporters are so in the dark about his crimes against dogs.

"It worked out nicely for Vick that he never faced his animal abuse charges in court," she told me. "That meant football fans were spared the most disturbing details of his tortures and could go back to their Sunday night ritual with barely a hiccup."

Those who weren't spared those disturbing details, like Reynolds and McClay, aren't finding it easy, or even possible, to move on.

"I look at Leo's big, fat head and wonderful, loving heart," McClay said, "and wonder, how can you kill something like that? And now that's okay because Vick did his time, and we should just move on? How do you move on from that?"

Well, you might say, that's our criminal justice system, and that's professional sports. And you'd be right, as far as it goes.

But before it goes too far -- before you, too, become one of the people saying Vick's done his time and deserves to get on with his life -- consider something other than the heartwarming stories about ex-Vick dogs making visits to cancer wards and schools for troubled kids.

The horrific fate of those dogs is why Reynolds is actually glad about the continued debate between Vick's defenders and pit bull advocates -- it makes it harder for what he did to be buried along with the dogs he killed.

"Much of the public still sees pit bulls as willing gladiators rather than the victims that they are," she told me. "We have a long way to go before open debate on the topic of animal abuse is welcome in most living rooms, so the outrage about Vick's tortures is rightfully keeping the subject alive."

I suppose that's the silver lining. I just wish I could get the image of those frightened, drowning dogs out of my head. And I wish I believed they were haunting Michael Vick, too.

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